President’s Day

Jump back to 1879. Rutherford B. Hayes signs into law an official federal holiday of remembrance for the George Washington. Now we have a delectable three day weekend thanks to President Hayes. Kennedy loved baked chicken, Carter liked corn bread, one of Clinton’s favorites is chicken enchiladas, Obama loves chili, Teddy Roosevelt loved Turtle Soup. I could go on! But I won’t.

Let’s look at some delicious things you can eat in honor of the President’s who came before us to give us this marvelous day off work!

Fill tortillas with chicken mixture. Roll up. Arrange side by side,seam side down, in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Pour chili sauce over enchiladas.

Bake at 275 degrees until heated through about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with chopped fresh parsley and/ or additional sour cream.

Roosevelt Turtle Soup

Ingredients

1 large or 2 small “yellow belly” Cooters (preferably female)

Red pepper to taste

3 tablespoons dry sherry

4 quarts of water

1 large onion, chopped

1 small Irish potato, diced Salt to taste

12 whole cloves

2 teaspoons Allspice

2 tablespoons Worcestershire

Flour to thicken

What to do with them

Kill Cooter by chopping off head. Let it stand inverted until thoroughly drained, then plunge into boiling water for five minutes. Crack the shell all around very carefully, so as not to cut the eggs that are lodged near surface. The edible parts are the front and hindquarters and a strip of white meat adhering to the back of the shell, the liver and the eggs. Remove all outer skin, which peels very easily if water is hot enough. Wash thoroughly and allow to stand in cold water a short time, or place in refrigerator over night.

Boil Cooter meat, onion and potato in the water, and cook until meat drops from bones – about 2 hours. Remove all bones and skin and cut meat up with scissors. Return meat to stock, and spices and simmer. Brown flour in skillet, mix with 1 cup of stock to smooth paste and thicken soup. Twenty minutes before serving add Cooter eggs. Add sherry and garnish with thin slices of lemon.